Over the last few years, Patanjali Ayurved has emerged out of nowhere to become one of India’s leading FMCG brands. News reports suggest that revenues in FY16 have crossed Rs 5,000 crores. The company is present in all kinds of product segments, from food to personal care to home care to hygiene. Never has any emerging FMCG player attacked simultaneously across so many products.

Little wonder that all the FMCG companies are worried, and analysts are buzzing around trying to figure out what’s happening. After all, Indian consumer stocks enjoy rich valuations and there is a lot at stake.

The question on everybody’s mind is “Is it sustainable?”.

The value of FMCG businesses lies in customer stickiness, as brand usage tends to be habit forming. While Patanjali has made inroads, sustainable future growth will depend on customer happiness and quality (whether defined as taste or texture or effectiveness, as appropriate to the product). This leads to several questions:

• Why did customers buy? Is it price, or something else?
• Are customers happy? Will they continue to buy?
• In which products/categories are Patanjali customers happiest (stickiest)?
• Who might get hurt because of Patanjali?
• Is usage of one Patanjali product leading to the next?
• Are there any chinks in their armour?

Though definitive answers to these questions will require substantial research, ValueNotes conducted a limited dipstick study of Patanjali consumers to see if any quick insights were forthcoming.The intention was to get a sense of what customers (of Patanjali) think about their products, and why they like (or buy them). Some of the products categories studied in this report included personal care (toothpaste, hair care, soap), home care (detergents, floor cleaners), food products (biscuits, honey)and ayurveda products (healthcare).

The results, presented in a report – titled Patanjali is here to stay! – is indeed very interesting.

To download a complimentary copy of our research findings, please follow this link